Netanyahu vows retaliation as Iran strikes hospital in attack on Israel

Israel launched strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran on Thursday, prompting a barrage of missile and drone attacks from Tehran, including a deadly overnight strike on an Israeli hospital — marking a dangerous escalation in the week-old conflict with no clear exit strategy in sight.

In the aftermath of the attack that damaged the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Iran’s leadership would “pay the full price.”

“We are not necessarily aiming to topple the regime — that’s for the Iranian people to decide — but we may create the conditions for them to rise up for their freedom,” Netanyahu said, referring to Iran’s ruling clerics.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the military had been ordered to intensify its offensive against strategic targets in Tehran, aiming to eliminate threats to Israel and destabilise the regime led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

As night fell, Iranian media reported that air defence systems were engaging hostile aircraft over northern Tehran.

According to Israeli, Western, and regional sources, Israel's expanding air campaign is intended not just to cripple Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, but to seriously undermine the regime’s political foundation.

Netanyahu’s ultimate goal, officials said, is to pressure Tehran into abandoning its nuclear enrichment efforts, ballistic missile program, and support for armed proxies across the Middle East.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has sent mixed signals regarding the conflict, alternating between calls for diplomacy and hints that the United States could join the war effort. The White House said Trump would make a final decision within two weeks.

“Given the real possibility of negotiations with Iran in the near future, the president will decide on potential U.S. involvement soon,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, relaying Trump’s position.

Reuters reported that Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, has held several phone calls with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in recent days.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council warned that it would adopt a new military strategy should a “third party” — a likely reference to the U.S. — intervene in support of Israel.

Israeli Strikes Hit Iran’s Nuclear Sites

Israel claimed it targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities in Natanz, Isfahan, and Khondab, though an earlier report that the Bushehr nuclear plant had been struck was later retracted. An Iranian diplomat dismissed the claim as “psychological warfare,” noting that Bushehr, which houses Russian technicians and sits near Gulf neighbors, was untouched.

After a week of sustained strikes, Israel has reportedly inflicted serious damage on Iran’s top military leadership and nuclear infrastructure, killing hundreds. Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it launched coordinated attacks on Israeli military and industrial targets in Haifa and Tel Aviv on Thursday, prompting sirens and emergency responses across central Israel.

Iran, facing its most serious security crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is now considering a broader response. Behnam Saeedi, a senior member of Iran’s Parliamentary National Security Committee, told Mehr News that Tehran may close the Strait of Hormuz — a vital channel for global oil exports.

Civilians Flee as Destruction Mounts in Tehran

As the conflict deepens, daily life in Iran has been upended. Authorities have restricted information, halted casualty reports, and shut down internet access to contain panic. Public filming has been banned, and scenes of destruction have largely disappeared from state media.

“I saw at least three dead children and two women in the building next to mine,” said Arash, a 33-year-old Tehran resident. “Is this how Netanyahu plans to ‘liberate’ us? Stay away from our country.”

Highways leading out of Tehran have become gridlocked as thousands flee the capital. Samira, an 11-year-old girl who relocated with her family to Urmia after a missile hit a nearby shopping mall, said she’s been plagued by fear.

“I’m afraid Israel will hit our home and my mom will die. I just want to go back,” she told Reuters.

Inside Israel, the recent missile barrage marks the first time in years that Iranian projectiles have penetrated Israeli defences and caused civilian casualties at such a scale.

At the Soroka hospital, the scene of Thursday’s attack, Director General Shlomi Kodesh confirmed that 40 people, including patients and medical staff, were injured when several wards were struck.

While Iran claimed it targeted nearby military and intelligence facilities, Israeli officials denied the presence of such assets near the hospital. Elsewhere, a residential building in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, was hit by a missile, rattling residents.

“It’s terrifying,” said 34-year-old Yaniv, who lives nearby. “The explosion was so loud it shook the entire building.”

As both sides brace for further confrontation, the Middle East remains on edge — with global powers watching closely and the potential for wider regional war looming.